Battery chargers for electrical vehicles and plug-in hybrid electrical vehicle have charger cords running from the battery charger to a charging socket on the vehicle that may be up to 7 meters long to allow flexibility in positioning the vehicle relative to the battery charger. Portions of the charger cord typically lay on the ground surface when the charging cord is plugged into the vehicle's charging socket and may pick up dirt and fluids from the ground surface. The battery charger typically includes cord management features, such as spools or reels around which the cords are wound. If a human operator uses his/her hands to wind the charging cord around the spool, he/she may get soiled hands from dirt and/or fluids picked up by the charging cord as it lay on the ground surface. Therefore a means of stowing the charger cord that can avoid soiling the operator's hand is desired.
The subject matter discussed in the background section should not be assumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in the background section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the background section or associated with the subject matter of the background section should not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the prior art. The subject matter in the background section merely represents different approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.